Mt. Kisokoma-gatake hiking & climbing route

Route Guide

This is the route which Walter Weston climbed to Mt. Kiso-koma-gatake. At that time, it is said that he descended to Ina city. You may drive your car to the trailhead or take a taxi from Agematsu station. From the trailhead in front of Alps-sanso Mountain Hut (closed for now), start walking along Name river. Follow the road signs and you will be fine. When you come to the logging road, turn right. Shortly you reach the mountain hut Keishi-no-taki-koya, which operates on a membership system. Proceed on the trail extending through the forest with no view. It is a surprisingly steep slope so maintain a steady pace. When the view opens up, Kanekake-koya Mountain Hut at Gogou-me will be reached. It is an emergency shelter but is well maintained. There is a place to replenish your water supply, called Kongou-sui, however, it can be dried up sometimes. You need to research in advance.

When you pass Kanekake-koya mountain hut, the steep slope, Munatsuki-Haccho, will begin. This climb will prove mentally rigorous as there will be no view to enjoy, however, the occasional appearance of mountains through trees should encourage you on. Pass Nanagou-me and when you come close to Hachigou-me, you will soon pass the tree line. The trail separates. Choose the left trail towards the summit of Mt. Kiso-mae-dake. The trail is surrounded by nice views and alpine plants. After descending shortly from the summit of Mt. Kiso-mae-dake, Tamano-kubo-sanso Mountain hut will be reached. It is recommended that you stay here for the night. Enjoy a quiet night by yourself.

Start early the next day. Ascend while stone figures along the trail watch over you. When the red roof comes into sight, that is Choko-kiso-koya Mountain hut, located just below the summit of Mt. Kiso-koma-gatake. Pass via the side of the hut, then the summit of Mt. Kiso-koma-gatake will be reached. The summit will be very busy with many hikers on sunny days. The view is 360-degrees. Besides Mt. Ontake-san and the North Japan Alps, even Mt. Fuji and the second highest mountain in Japan, Mt. Kita-dake can be seen. On sunny days, there are many moments for photoshooting. For this course, we set the descending route as the same one used for ascending, however, you can also enjoy the route to Shirabi-daira via the ropeway. In that case, from the summit, it takes about 40 minutes to Senjyo-jiki. The riding time of the ropeway is about 8 minutes, however, you might need to wait in line for one or two-hours during holidays or summer vacation. From Shirabi-daira, take a bus to Komagane station.